UConn notebook: Leftovers from Huskies’ win over SCSU

Some leftovers from coach Kevin Ollie and the Huskies after Wednesday night’s exhibition win over Southern Connecticut State.

Ollie on DeAndre Daniels’ 21-point, 10 rebound night:

“Oh I liked DeAndre. I liked the dunk. I liked him getting out on the fast break. I like his intensity, he was talking and I liked the focus. He was one of the best players out there on our team I believe. He was consistent.”

Ollie on Ryan Boatright, with 15 points, five assists and one turnover:

“Boatright played well to have five assists and one turnover. Every move was with a purpose. He got in the lane and wasn’t just trying to use his shear athleticism, he was coming in with a purpose. If he’d have closed his eyes I think he would have known where all his guards were and all forwards were, and that’s a good sign for a point guard that he can do that. I look for great things from him this year.”

PHIL-LING IN: In terms of production in the amount of time they were allotted Wednesday, sophomore Phil Nolan might have been hard to top. In 11 minutes, the 6-foot-9 forward had nine points and six rebounds.

Nolan appeared to play with more confidence in the post, where he was 4- of 5 shooting and also went to the line twice – though he was just 1-for-4 on free-throws.

“We have been working on that,” Ollie said. “Coach (Glen) Miller has done a great job with that getting those guys in early and then we have been watching a lot of film. And that’s a good thing we have been doing with Phil, breaking down the details of the game and how to establish low post position early. How to seal your man and then we’ve been working on his footwork.

We do a lot of things where our bigs do the same footwork as our guards and I think it’s really helping.”

The next step for Nolan might be getting meaner on the floor.

“We have to get him that confidence that I’m a big man and I’m going to dominate, and once he starts that, it’s going to click in and he’s going to have a great year for us,” Ollie said.

FITTING IN: George Washington transfer Lasan Kromah offered up a little of everything in his debut with the Huskies. The senior swingman finished with eight points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals in 16 minutes, and appears to be capable of helping the team all over the floor.

“He’s going to give us some versatility,” Ollie said. “I can play him at the ’2′ and I can play him at the ’3.’ If somebody is not having a good performance I can put him in, plug him in and he’ll be already. He’s a seasoned veteran, it’s not like you have to get him going our he’s worried about starting. He’s just going to come in and take care of his minutes.”

Included in Kromah’s night was a couple of feeds to 7-foot freshman Amida Brimah for easy dunks.

Kromah and Niels Giffey (10 points, four rebounds) certainly give the Huskies options and added depth at small forward, where they also have sophomore Omar Calhoun.

“It’s good to have that luxury on the bench,” Ollie said.

TRAVELING: Leon Tolksdorf made his mark in six minutes of work by going 2-for-2 from 3-point range. “Leon came in and hits some 3s, which is great for us,” Ollie said. “It gives us that shooter coming off the bench and we need that, especially if we see zones some.” …

One Response

The stats/numbers and comments sound real good.
We could have one of the more athletic and versatile teams, as well as one of the quickest teams and strongest backcourts in the Nation.
The trio of Napier, Boatright, and Calhoun will give bigger, slower, less conditioned teams fits.
You have to use your strengths as a coach, and Ollie knows this–while Jim Calhoun was the master of this.
We don’t have a dominant big-bodied banging center or PF, so we’ll work around that.
Hopefully Brimah will beef up a little, and I’m fully expecting DeAndre Daniels to have a true “coming out” year like Stanley Robinson did a few years back.
Sometimes chemistry is more important than sheer talent, but I think we have just enough of both to turn some heads and make some noise in March for sure.